Review by Adam M on September 23, 2015.

When speaking of classic progressive death metal albums, one must mention Atheist’s Unquestionable Presence. It has the splendid guitar riffs of an absolute gem of an album. It is also the bridge between the later more jazzy material of the band and the more pure death metal of earlier times. This means the album contains the best of both worlds. The sort of free flowing jazz element of the album displays the band constantly changing and remaining interesting.

There are many excellent tracks on the album, but the highlight for me has to be the closing track …And the Psychic Straw. This song is simply an amalgamation of excitement and holds a small edge over the track Mother Man as the best on the disc. One thread that works its way throughout this entire release is the excellent bass playing beneath the exterior. It adds another dimension to the quality of this album. There are constantly interesting ideas that are put into play. This makes every song sound different than the last. The undermining drumming and bass work always makes each part flow together to create a magnificently cohesive whole. Guitar work is nimble and works well with the other instrumentation. The vocalist has a voice that fits nicely over the music, but is nothing incredibly spectacular like the remainder of the instrumentation. Altogether this album rivals the likes of Cynic’s Focus and other stellar progressive death metal releases for musicianship and it’s easy to see why.

At the end of the day, however, it is the ability to write good songs that matters most and this is where Unquestionable Presence shines. This release could be considered a transition album and it takes the best from all different time frames to combine into one stellar overall release. Any death metal fan that has yet to check this album out needs to hear it.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Adam M on December 17, 2015.

Baroness has put an emphasis on the more rock and progressive leanings of their music in recent times and this shines through with Purple. This album jives along at a nice rock pace throughout, but doesn’t hide the quality of the guitar riffs that are shining through in the background. The effect that the band has is a psychedelic one that hearkens back to the older days of rock and roll, but pushes forward with a production job that is suited for the future.

The beginning of the album is superb with the highlight tracks Shock Me and Try to Disappear making their mark. These tracks are highly addictive and memorable excursions. The remainder of the album maintains a high level of quality throughout. When compared directly to the previous album, there is a slight lack of freshness that holds the songs slightly back from the Yellow side. Still, they are potent and highly euphoric songs that are a welcome sight with the slow later portion of the year for music. The vocals are unusual and appropriate for the tracks at hand. Again, this vocalist asserts his presence on top of the songs in a fine fashion. The guitars are fuzzy to the extreme and fit nicely with the remainder of the music. All in all the instrumentation is quite well done, though nothing overly technical. Baroness has a strong grasp on these rock pieces, however, and makes them heard quite clearly. Unlike Mastodon, their music still manages to have a huge impact on the listener and keep them gripped for more. This music is exciting and worthwhile to the core.

With the progression the band has been taking it will be interesting to see what they come up with next. Hopefully, there are no overt attempts to pander towards commerciality. As it stands, Purple is solid stuff.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10